Free Prescriptions

Scrapping a Tax on Ill Health

Despite the central purpose of the NHS being healthcare free at the point of use, in England prescription charges for medication can build up to become a real financial burden on struggling people.

Not so in Scotland.

In Scotland, prescriptions are free and have been since 2011 when the SNP abolished them.

According to the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (SPICe), the average Scot receives 19 prescriptions per year. If those charges in England were applied in Scotland they would be out of pocket by over £188 annually.

With an ongoing cost-of-living crisis affecting hundreds of thousands people in Scotland, this is yet another example of SNP policies designed to help ordinary people.

Prescription charges were nothing more than a tax on ill health that Scotland’s families could ill afford.

But ensuring prescriptions remain free in Scotland cannot be taken for granted and could well come under threat from the unionist parties – with a former Labour leader describing it as “something for nothing”, and their health spokesperson having said in the past that she would bring them back.

Every year since being elected to government, the SNP has shown its commitment to free prescriptions. If you value free prescriptions and protecting Scotland’s NHS, there’s only one party to vote for – the SNP.